As the sports world looks to restart, college athletics programs around the nation have been reporting large numbers of COVID-19 cases in student-athletes.
Luckily, the University of Kentucky is not one of those schools as the lone report was of six football players tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies upon arrival for non-voluntary workouts.
While the football and volleyball teams have not mandated frequent COVID-19 testing, John Calipari reportedly told five-star recruit Sky Clark that his team will be getting tested weekly.
In an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, Clark said he was told by Calipari the current UK squad will be tested for the coronavirus “once or twice a week.”
Skyy Clark told KSR today that in his Zoom meeting with John Calipari, the UK head coach said the Kentucky basketball team will be testing for COVID-19 weekly.
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) July 4, 2020
“They’re getting the kids tested, I think once or twice a week,” he said.
This is a smart move by the basketball program as the team has moved back to campus and hopes to begin practicing and building team chemistry in the near future.
It’s also a step the football, volleyball, and all UK athletic programs should take going forward, as COVID-19 testing capacity continues to increase in Kentucky.
UK Athletics physician Dr. Robert Hosey noted earlier this week on BBN Live that would be the case saying “Diagnostic testing is going to be incorporated into our protocols, and you’re going to see that happening, and we’re still waiting on a bigger level to see what testing becomes available.”